Concrete wall construction form



March 7, 1967 R. K. STOUT 3,307,22

CONCRETE WALL CONSTRUCTION FORM Filed Jan. 7, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Qobew K. 510111 R. K. STOUT CONCRETE WALL CONSTRUCTION FORM March 7, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 7, 1963 INVENTOR POBEPTK 37 007 United States Patent f 3,307,822 CONCRETE WALL CONSTRUCTION FORM Robert K. Stout, Norwaik, Iowa, assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to International Concrete Systems Company, Bala-Cynwyd, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 7, 1963, Ser. No. 250,461 1 Claim. (Cl. 249-489) My invention relates to construction equipment and, more particularly, to forms for constructing concrete walls. This is a continuation in part, of my co-pending application, Serial No. 684,475, filed September 17, 1957, now abandoned.

Heretofore, a substantial part of the cost in constructing a concrete wall has been attributed to the forms into which the concrete is poured. Steel forms are used very extensively in this work but they are so heavy that the individual forms must be of only nominal size so as to permit manual handling thereof. The relatively small size of these steel forms obviously increases the amount of labor required to construct a given area of wall. Wooden forms are sometimes used, but they cannot be made much larger than the steel forms because the wood does not possess the strength to support great loads without being heavily reinforced.

A further shortcoming of the wall forms known to me is that the steel forms are very susceptible to rust and corrosion and the wooden forms rapidly decompose in the presence of moisture and must be replaced after limited use.

A still further shortcoming of the wall forms known to me is that it is all but impossible to impose any pattern in the concrete wall with a Wooden form, and my pattern presented by a steel form is very expensive to create.

However, the greatest shortcoming of the wall forms known to me is that the finished concrete wall always shows the seam where two adjacent forms have been placed together. These unsightly seams have heretofore prevented the use of a bare concrete wall as a finished structural component in any building, such as a dwelling or office, where high aesthetic standards must be maintained.

Therefore, the principal object of my invention is to provide a concrete wall form that has a small perimeterarea ratio so that the total length of seams in a poured wall can be reduced.

A further object of my invention is to provide concrete wall forms that can successfully camouflage the seams created in a concrete wall by two adjacent forms.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a concrete wall form that can be of substantial size but which is still relatively lightweight.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a concrete wall form that is durable in use and which can be reused indefinitely without losing any of its functional properties.

A still further object of my invention'is to provide a concrete wall form which can provide a pattern in the concrete wall.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a concrete wall form that will precisely register with adjacent forms to reduce the appearance of seams in the finished concrete wall.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a concrete wall form that is economical of manufacture and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangements, and combination, of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, specifically pointed out in my 3,307,822 Patented Mar. 7, 1967 claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partial perspective view of one specie of my device and shows the inside surface of the form;

FIGURE 2 is an outside view of my concrete form and is typical of the outside elevation of the forms shown in both FIGURES 1 and 3;

FIGURE 3 is a partial perspective view of a second specie of my device and shows how two forms may be placed together to create a wall cavity into which the concrete can be poured;

FIGURE 4 is a partial perspective view ofa concrete wall created by the form shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a partial perspective view of a concrete Wall created by the forms shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged scale perspective view of a modified form of my invention, showing the pattern in more detail and alsoshowing the registering edges of the forms;

FIGURE 7 is a partial sectional view of my device taken I on line 77 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a partial elevational view of my device taken on line 88 of FIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 9 is a partial elevational view of another of my devices that registers with the unit shown in FIGURE 8, as viewed on line 88 of FIGURE 6.

I have used the numerals 10 and 10A to generally designate the species of my form, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 6, and the numeral 12 designates the form shown in FIGURE 3. Like numerals will be used to designate the identical elements of these two species. I prefer to construct these forms 10 (10A and 10B) and 12 of cast magnesium but aluminum or other lightweight metal can be used. These forms are preferably made in sections 8'0" high and 4'0" wide and these proportions are clearly illustrated in FIGURE 2.

The numeral 14 designated a relatively thin sheet of metal which has the over-all dimensions of the desired form. Sheet 14 includes an outside surface 18 and an inside surface 44. A flange 16 on the perimeter of sheet 14 extends outwardly from the inside surface 44 of sheet 14 and protrudes beyond outside surface 18 at a right angle thereto. A plurality of slot indentations 20 are imposed in the outside surface of flange 16 and these slot indentations are perpendicularly disposed with respect to the plane of sheet 14. Holes 22 can extend through flange 16 in each one of the slot indentations 20 for a reason to be seen hereafter.

Hub members 24, 26 and 28 project from the outside surface 18 of metal sheet 14, as shown in FIGURE 2. These hub members 24, 26 and 28 all have a thickness substantially equal to the width of flange 16 which extends around the perimeter of sheet 14. Rib members 30 radiate outwardly from hub 24 and are spaced approximately 45 degrees apart. Rib members 32 radiate similarly from hub 28. Four rib members 34, 36, 38 and 40 radiate at degree intervals from hub 26. Ribs 34 and 36 connect hub 26 with hubs 24 and 28, respectively. All 'of the other aforementioned ribs connect their respective hubs with various points along the length of flange 16. The function of the above described ribs is to reinforce metal sheet 14 and this reinforcement could obviously have assumed several possible patterns. I prefor to have the ribs and hubs all cast as an integral unit along with metal sheet 14. A slot opening 42 appears in each of the hubs 24, 26 and 28. These slot openings 42 have a thickness approximately twice as great as the depth of the slot indentations 20 in flange 16, and the respective widths of the slot openings 42 and slot indentations 20 are the same.

The inside surface of form 10 in FIGURE 1 is desighated by the numeral 44 and is shown to be rough and irregular, and is comprised of a plurality of small indentations and protruding portions of different sizes located in an irregular and non symmet'rical pattern. These indentations and protruding portions of the surface 44 are shown in more detail in FIGURES 6, 7, 8 and 9; The relative size and pattern of these indentations and protruding portions will be discussed further hereafter. The inside surface of form '12 in FIGURE 3 is designated by the numeral 46 and is shown to be comprised of a plurality of substantially vertical scratch marks created by elongated indentations and protruding portions intermittently positioned. Both forms It) and 12 may have a plurality of elongated narrow bars 43 horizontally extending across their respective inside surfaces 44 and 46. Non-continuous vertical bars 50 on these same surfaces complete the brick pattern that is seen in FIGURES 1 and 3. It should be noted that the vertical bars 52 adjacent the side edges of surfaces 44 and 46 of forms It) and 12, respectively, have a width equal to only half that of the vertical bars 50. Similarly, the bars 53 at the top and bottom (bottom not shown) of surfaces 44 and 46 are half the width of horizontal bars 48. It should also be noted that the bars 52 have been alternatively discontinued at 54.

In FIGURE 6, I have shown sheets A and 10B which are substantially identical to sheet 10, but the bars 48A and 50A thereof, which correspond to the bars 48 and 50 on sheet 10, are arcuate in shape to enable them to be more easily withdrawn from a hardened concrete wall. The bars 48A and 59A divide the inside surfaces of forms 10A and 1013 into a plurality of brick-like surfaces 44A and 44B, respectively. As shown in FIGURES 8 and 9, bars 48A extend outwardly slightly farther than bars 50A. This serves to better disguise the half bars 52A at the sides of the form 10A. None of the brick-like surfaces 44A are the same, however, but forms 10A and 10B are substantially identical. Thus, protruding portions 45 and 45A on surface 44A are different from the protruding portions 45B and 45C on another surface 44A. Also, the protruding portions 45, 45A, 45B and 45C are all different in size and shape from each other. Similarly, the indentations 45E and 45F on one surface 44A (or 44B) are different from the indentations 45G and 45H on another surface 44A. None of the indentations are alike in size and shape. Various other indentations and protruding portions have been designated by the numerals 45E and 45A, respectively. By observing FIGURES 8 and 9, it will be noted that since forms 10A and 10B are substantially identical, the adjacent side edges 44C of the forms match and register with each other to better hide any seam between adjacent forms. As shown in FIG- URE 6, the indentations and protruding portions are substantially arcuate in shape to avoid any sharp lines or edges. It is preferred that the vertical side edges of each form 10A be identical so that when a plurality of such forms are aligned in side by side abutting relation, the adjacent vertical side edges of the for-ms will all register with each other.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the slot 42, which passes through hub 24, preferably appears on one of the horizontal bars 48 on the inside face of the form. Similarly, slot indentations 2th in flange 16 always pass through a vertical bar 52. Straps 56 are used to keep two opposite forms together while the wall is being poured. FIGURE 3 shows how straps 56 extend between the slot indentations 20 on the flanges of two oppositely disposed forms 12. The straps 56 are secured to the respective forms 12 by pins 58 which pass through the straps and holes 22 in flange 16. The depths of the slot indentations 20 are equal to half the thickness of straps 56 so that the abutting flanges of two adjacent forms will present a slot opening substantially equal to the cross section of the straps. The slot openings 42 in hubs 24, 26, and 28 also are adapted to receive one of the straps 56. After the concrete wall has hardened within the forms shown in FIG- URE 3, the pins 58 are removed from engagement with the straps 56 and the flanges 16 of the adjacent forms. The forms are then removed from the concrete wall and the straps 56 can be pulled from the wall. Since the straps 5'6 always pass through a portion of the concrete wall formed by the bars 48, 52 or 53, the vacancy left in the wall by the removed strap is not readily noticeable since it necessarily must terminate in a recessed mortar joint formed by one of the bars.

FIGURE 4 shows a portion of a concrete wall 60 which was poured adjacent form 10, and FIGURE 5 shows a similar wall 61 constructed with forms 12. The horizontal mortar joints 62 in FIGURES 4 and 5 were formed by bars 48 on the respective forms, and the mortar joints 64 were formed by the vertical bars 50. The surface 44 of form 1h created the irregular vertically scarred or scratched brick surface 66 in FIGURE 4, and the surface 46 of form 12 created the irregular vertically scarred or scratched brick surface 68, shown in FIGURE 5.

The use of magnesium or other similar metal permits me to conveniently make and use a wall form much larger than any steel or wooden form known to me. Furthermore, magnesium and aluminum do not readily corrode as does steel and they never wear out as does wood. Since I am able to construct a relatively larger form by utilizing lightweight metals, the labor in forming a given area of wall is greatly reduced. By casting the whole form as one integral unit, I am able to also greatly reduce the cost of fabricating the forms. This casting of the forms also enables one to conveniently place a pattern on the inside face of the form, such as the brick pattern shown in FIGURES l and 3.

Since the use of magnesium permits the wall forms to be made of greater size, the total length of the seams between adjacent forms is much less than if the forms were smaller. Thus, 32 square feet of the wall surface are formed by one of my 4'0" by 8'0" forms and 24 lineal feet of seams are presented. If this same wall area were formed by two forms 4'0" by 4'0", 28 lineal feet of seams would appear.

Any horizontal seams that may be created by placing one of my forms on top of the other will be hidden in a recessed mortar joint formed by horizontal bars 53. The vertical seams created by adjacently abutting two of my for-ms together are substantially hidden by the vertical mortar joint formed by vertical bars 52. At points 54 on the forms 10 and 12 where these bars 52 are discontinued, the resulting seams are hidden by or lost in the irregular pattern formed in the wall by the surfaces 44 or 46 of forms 10 and 12, respectively. The registering of the adjacent side edges of adjacent forms, as shown in FIG- URES 6 through 9, helps to insure this result. Thus, the light weight of my forms reduces the total length of the necessary seams and the pattern in any form helps to camouflage those seams that do result. It is therefore seen that my invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my concrete wall construction form without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

In a wall construction form,

a sheet member,

a plurality of parallel spaced apart elongated straight bars integral with and formed on one side of said sheet member to present a pattern of simulated indented mortar joints in a poured and hardened concrete wall,

exposed areas on said sheet member in between said bars, I

said exposed areas presenting irregular surfaces of said sheet member one side,

said irregular surfaces being comprised of a plurality ofdissimilar indentations and protruding portions of different sizes located in an irregular and non-symmetrical pattern,

said indentations and protruding portions being substantially arcuate in cross-section,

said irregular surf-aces each presentinga different contoured surface, and

some of said bars are intermittently vertically positioned between rows of other horizontal bars to create a pattern of simulated indented mortar joints in a poured and hardened concrete Wall; said horizontal bars extending outwardly further than said vertically positioned bars.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 916,084 3/ 1909 Witthoefit 25--131 1,123,261 1/1915 Edison 25-13 1 1,147,704 7/ 1915 Bruckner.

1,564,578 12/ 1925 Kennedy 251Z3 1,636,396 7/ 1927 Urschel.

1,750,511 3/1930 Dunn.

2,627,100 2/1953 Jelks.

2,819,495 1/1958 Krausz 25-123 X OTHER REFERENCES Symons Catalog No. MF1, p. 11, Symons Clamp and 15 Mfg. Co., Chicago, Illinois.

I. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

MICHAEL V. BRINDISI, Examiner.

J. H. FLINT, Assistant Examiner. 

